The 411 on Boston Calling

Boston Calling musical and comedy festival makes a move to Harvard May 26-28.

Dana Forsythe dforsythe@wickedlocal.com @watertowntab

This year’s three-day Boston Calling music festival (May 26-28) has been moved from City Hall Plaza in downtown Boston to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston.

While offering an opportunity for the festival to spread its wings and expand capacity, it also means more bands for fans to check out.

This year’s crop includes more than 40 acts, including new Grammy winner Chance the Rapper, reclusive progressive and legendary psych rock band Tool, alt-rock heroes Weezer, and big names like Bon Iver and Mumford and Sons.

In addition to an expanded music lineup, Boston Calling will also feature a lineup of comedians hosted by Hannibal Buress that includes Tig Notaro, Pete Holmes and Eugene Mirman, among others. A planned film "experience" has been postponed to a future festival.

Since that's a lot of music and comedy to take in, even over a few days, we picked nine acts you have to see at this year’s Boston Calling festival. Get tickets and check out the full list of acts at bostoncalling.com

ARTIST: Whitney

WHEN: Friday, May 26

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: Chicago indie favorites Whitney have quickly garnered a ton of good press for their catchy, reflective and fun pop songs. Although the duo, comprised of former Smith Westerns guitarist Max Kakacek and former Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Julien Ehrlich, only got together in 2015, they’ve quickly made a mark for themselves, signing to Secretly Canadian and releasing "Light Upon the Lake" in 2016. Whitney is a band to watch.

LISTEN TO: “Golden Days”, “No Woman”

ARTIST: Majid Jordan

WHEN: Saturday, May 27

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: Signed to OVO Sound, Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman, better known as Majid Jordan, are the brains behind one of Drake’s biggest hits, "Hold On We’re Going Home." On their self-titled release last year, the duo continued expanding their electronic soul sound. With their new single “Phases” the Canadian soul group is aiming to join their friend and collaborator Drake at the top of the charts.

LISTEN TO: “Free,” “Make it Work”

ARTIST: Mac Demarco

WHEN: Friday, May 26

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: Mac Demarco just released his newest album ‘This Old Dog’ this past week. The record has some of Demarco’s most experimental music he’s ever released. Known for his wild live shows, humorous banter and odd on stage antics, Mac Demarco’s Boston Calling set should not be missed.

LISTEN TO: “My Old Man,” “On the Level”

ARTIST: Kevin Morby

WHEN: Saturday, May 27

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: The former Woods bassist and frontman of The Babies, Morby cites Bob Dylan as a huge inspiration and it’s easy to see some of that shine through in his music. Morby’s new album, "City Music," is due out June 16 on Dead Oceans, and features some of his unique brand of noise, folk and rock blended up into haunting pop songs.

LISTEN TO: “Come to Me Now,” “Dorothy”

ARTIST: Piebald

WHEN: Sunday, May 28

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: After breaking up almost a decade ago, Boston favorites Piebald are back. Piebald started as a hardcore band in Andover, out of the same scene that produced Converge. They later moved to the Boston suburb of Somerville and became a staple of the greater Boston indie rock scene.

LISTEN TO: “American Hearts,” “Just a Simple Plan”

ARTIST: Chance the Rapper

WHEN: Friday, May 26

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: After a Grammy win earlier this year, Chance has been everywhere. The Chicago rapper released his third full length album, "Coloring Book" (for free) late last year, giving way to the hits "No Problem” and “Angels.” Most recently, he’s teamed up with DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne and Justin Bieber for the chart-topping “I’m the One.”

LISTEN TO: “Juice”, “No Problem”

ARTIST: Run the Jewels

WHEN: Sunday, May 28

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: If you caught Run the Jewels at Boston Calling two years ago you know that their show simply cannot be missed this time around. With a new album out, "RTJ3," Killer Mike and El-P have returned to deliver hard-hitting, intelligent and political rap they’re loved for.

LISTEN TO: “Nobody Speak,” “Talk to Me”

ARTIST: Tool

WHEN: Sunday, May 28

WHY WE'RE EXCITED: It’s been about 11 years since Tool released their fourth album, "10,000 Days," and fans are foaming at the mouth for new music from the cult legends. Tool also posted an update on their site, reporting frontman Maynard James Keenan was working on vocals for new material.

LISTEN TO: “Lateralus,” “Stinkfist”

Email Dana Forsythe at dforsythe@wickedlocal.com or follow him on Twitter @watertowntab.